Bringing on a new guy or gal can be exhilarating. The company is growing and welcoming an additional member into its family. The opportunity to mold, mentor, and influence a fresh face reinvigorates the team, brings life and new light to the organization. 

Likely (hopefully), your new hire will come with a natural ability, some training or education, and an impeccable work ethic. Regardless of the level of experience, even the most talented addition will need to learn the dynamics, culture, and mechanics of your specific company. As leaders it is our job to promote growth, learning, and development in order to create a well-adjusted, well-trained addition to the team. 

Just as a parent to a child, you fear their failure, you provide them with the tools to become their best and offer an ear in time of need. You CANNOT, however, protect them from themselves and their future mistakes. That is how people learn. As leaders, and parents, or anyone in a position to influence someone’s progress, it is our duty to allow them to screw up. Sure, we want them to not travel the same rocky path we may have, we wish for seamless, smooth, and steady growth. Of course, we know best, we’ve been there, and we’ve done that. However, anyone that has raised a child knows that the older you get, and the more experience you have, the dumber you actually are. 

My daughter is an adult, technically. She is enrolled in college, and doing great. YAY! She chose to move out on her own shortly after high school graduation. NOT SO YAY. She is working and supporting herself and is continuing to learn how to be a grown-up. Soon she will not be just my wonderful, headstrong daughter, but a mother herself. OY!

As she has traveled this path I find it hard to sit back and watch her make decisions that make life harder than it needs to be. But it’s not my life. It’s not my journey. I have given her the necessary skills to succeed, but that doesn’t make it any more comfortable when I see her face unnecessary strife. I will always be there to support and advise, but right now it is my time to sit back, shut up and let her figure it out until I’m called upon. 

Just like the new guy that refuses to use CTRL+C, or the seasoned rep that continues to make all notes on paper just to transfer them to the system, or even myself that avoids pivot tables at all cost, our children, our prodigies, and our employees require the space to learn what works for them. Some approaches will fail, some will prove to be a better way of doing something, but either way learning is happening. Short of nonnegotiable processes, the freedom to explore and create one’s own technique is valuable in creating an autonomous and strong workforce. 

We all stumble, we fall flat on our face, we wish we could go back and do it over. As a leader, a family member, or a team member or peer the greatest gift we can give is to arm them with knowledge then, keep as quiet as the job allows, watch from the sidelines, and be ready to provide a helping hand when summoned.   

My baby is having a baby, EEEK!